


February 2017

by ArtisticVicu



Series: Monthly Prompt Writings [5]
Category: Original Work, Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, M/M, Original Character(s), Revolution, Shapeshifting, journey to love, multiple stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:07:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23418736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtisticVicu/pseuds/ArtisticVicu
Summary: Each chapter is a different story.Chapter 1:"I am not leaving until I know you are bandaged and not going to get jumped again!""Can you feel the love tonight?""And I want you out of my home! God damn it, Edward. You can't just show up unannounced and expect to be welcomed with open arms!"Chapter 2:A select team settle into place to start a revolution in a way none of them expected.Chapter 3:Theatre students hard at work suddenly have secrets thrown out into the open and its through the professors they trust that things don't immediately turn into chaos.
Series: Monthly Prompt Writings [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1684405





	1. Can you feel the love tonight?

There was laughter over the track of the movie and he was part of it, even as a part of him was kind of sad to miss this section of the movie. Jasper picked up on it instantly, meaning Edward was right behind him. Amber eyes were on him as a mischief smile graced that sculpted face. Adhara rolled his eyes. “What? I happen to like this part. Even if it is cheesy.” There was a collective, teasing, “ooooh” from the majority there and Adhara gave them all a flat look. “You cannot deny me the hopeless romantic notion of finding a partner in a long term friend here.”  
  
 _“I can see what’s happening,”  
“What?”_  
  
“He does have a point,” Alice voiced, leaning against Jasper. “It is something many wish for.”  
  
 _“And they don’t have a clue.”  
“Who?”_  
  
Edward pressed closer, whispering into Adhara’s ear, “Do you want me to tell Jessica to hold off on getting a date for prom or do you prefer Angela.”  
  
 _“They’ll fall in love and here’s the bottom line,”_  
  
Adhara shoved him hard enough that the vampire rolled over the arm of the couch and crashed to the floor. The room roared with laughter as Adhara good-heartedly stuck out his tongue at the one on the floor. Edward gave him a cheeky grin in return.  
  
 _“Our trio’s down to two.”  
“Oh.”_  
  
Adhara rubbed at his face, the movie loud enough downstairs that he knew exactly where they were at. The memories of fun times with the entire group assaulted him and he fortified his mental shields to keep Edward out. Thank the gods for small miracles.  
  
 _“The sweet caress of twilight,”_  
  
He wanted to be down there with them all, if only to relive those moments. He felt Jasper’s ability wrap confidence and ease around him but he brushed it aside. But no matter how much he wanted to relive those memories, _she_ was down there and he was having a hard enough time just sharing classes with her.  
  
 _“There’s magic everywhere,”_  
  
She was the reason he was now alone in his doubts. He and Edward had bonded over their own doubts of ever finding love, of ever having a partner through life. They had settled into being two bachelors and that had been a decent compromise. It had even been great.  
  
 _“And with all this romantic atmosphere,”_  
  
At least, until his cousin came to town, leaving him to be the only one doubting love was ever coming for him. After all, how could he find love with what he was?  
  
 _“Disaster’s in the air.”_  
  
“I’m going to ask her to marry me.”  
  
 _“So many things to tell her,”_  
  
Adhara was impressed he was able to not react to that news. He was also impressed that he hadn’t managed to collapse. It felt as if his entire body had shut down out of shock. How was he managing to stay standing, let alone appearing calm, was beyond him because he certainly didn’t feel calm about this. Though, he didn’t feel much of anything at the moment.  
  
 _“But how to make her see,”_  
  
“Oh,” he offered but the flicker of emotion on Edward’s face told him it had sounded odd to him as well.  
  
 _“The truth about my past, impossible.”_  
  
“I want you to be my best man.”  
  
 _“She’d turn away from me.”_  
  
Adhara had to close his eyes to keep from showing just how much that hurt. When he opened them again, he offered a tight smile, and a tighter, “I can’t.”  
  
 _“He’s holding back, he’s hiding,”_  
  
He hadn’t even noticed that he hadn’t thought of Forks in months till he had caught sight of a familiar head of hair in the crowd. He felt a body press closer to his side in the crowd and he leaned into his roommate even as he came to a stop.  
  
 _“But what, I can’t decide.”_  
  
Amber eyes met sky blue and Adhara gave himself a moment to take in Edward through the crowd of Pearl Street Mall. It eased some part of him to see that the other appeared to be doing well without him.  
  
 _“Why won’t he be the king I know he is?”_  
  
“Adhara?” his other roommate inquired. Adhara turned, ignoring Edward’s voice calling for him. He tried not to react physically to the pain that it caused. He shook his head, urging as they lost Edward in the crowd, “Ignore him.”  
  
 _“The king I see inside?”_  
  
“I am not leaving until I know you are bandaged and not going to get jumped again!”  
  
 ** _“Can you feel the love tonight?”_**  
  
“And I want you out of my home! God damn it, Edward. You can’t just show up unannounced and expect to be welcomed with open arms!”  
  
 _“The peace the evening brings,”_  
  
“And I’m not about to leave when neither of your roommates are here to protect you.” The insinuation left Adhara equal parts flabbergasted and enraged. He narrowed his eyes.  
  
 _“The world, for once, in perfect harmony,”_  
  
“Don’t you dare insinuate things you have no business dealing with. They’re not here because I asked them to disappear for the night so that they would be out of danger.” His insinuation was of a different nature but he could see that it hit a nerve in the vamp before him. Good.  
  
 _“With all its living things.”_  
  
“Seriously?”  
  
 _“Can you feel the love tonight?”_  
  
The word was softly spoken, as if Edward had taken the care to pick it and say it. Adhara let the gentle smile show on his face, thumb running over the worn cover of his mother’s journal, the thing that had answered so many of his own questions that Edward was unknowingly repeating. “Seriously,” he parroted, looking at him. “Apparently, even though I had scent markers, it’s nothing like the Quileute pack’s imprinting. It’s one sided and doesn’t even create emotions. They’re just scent markers.”  
  
 _“You needn’t look too far.”_  
  
Edward chuckled, the sound vibrating through him where their ribs were pressed against each other. Edward’s hand tightened comfortingly around Adhara’s. “No wonder you didn’t want to be my best man.”  
  
 _“Stealing through the night’s uncertainties,”_  
  
Adhara shoved him off the balcony, grinning as he heard Edward laugh all the way down to the ground. He looked down at the vampire that had landed in a crouch, unharmed. Edward grinned up at him as he straightened and, if anyone asked when Adhara’s world had finally mended itself, he would always point to this moment and tell them that it was when he shoved Edward from the second story balcony.  
  
 _“Love is where they are.”_  
  
But, in reality, it was when Edward returned to his side, settling on the edge of the balcony once more with their ribs pressing against each other and the vampire entangled their fingers once more. Cheesy, but it was something Adhara would cherish till his dying day.


	2. Independent and Free!

"Independent and Free! Independent and Free! Independent and Free!"  
  
The mantra was thunderous and sharp, seeming to shake the entire world as it was repeated in the same thunderous way all around the world.  
  
"Independent and Free! Independent and Free!"  
  
"They're gonna get themselves killed."  
  
He scoffed at her words, eyes not wavering from the crowds below, the shouting of the crowd barely muffled by the window. "At least it'll make our lives easier."  
  
"Yer an ass," a separate female commented from behind him.  
  
He looked over at her, arching an eyebrow but not challenging her words. The female that had spoken first clicked the rifle pieces together a bit sharper than necessary. She locked eyes on the female he was currently looking at and supplied instead, "He does have a point."  
  
"Thank you, Nine," he said, dipping his chin to the sniper before turning his gaze out the window once more.  
  
Nine clicked together another portion of her riffle. "Was not supporting you, Twenty-Six."  
  
He shrugged his shoulder. A gruff voice growled from the back of the room. "Shut it, you three. Twenty-Six, any sightings yet?"  
  
"None yet, Thirteen. Thirty-Seven?"  
  
The unnamed female in the back shifted, adjusting her headset and a few dials on the instruments before her. "Sounds coming in clear. Still waiting on the signal."  
  
"Are we sure about this?" Twenty-Six challenged, turning his gaze back to the crowd below. "Can we really trust One's intel?"  
  
"Ain't my intel you're challenging," a young man-no, a boy spoke, stepping up to Thirteen's side. The seasoned soldier saluted the small youth. "Madam gave me the information directly. She wanted you on this job specifically."  
  
Twenty-Six frowned. "Why not inform us directly?"  
  
One shook his head. "None of the teams were informed directly. Only those within the First were informed."  
  
Nine's hands stilled, her glare snapping to One. "Which First? Because I wasn't told shit."  
  
One offered a soft smile but it was disconcerting as it didn't reach the youth's eyes. "The First Selection. Not the First Tier, which you and I both fall into."  
  
Silence fell over them and the mantra from the crowd swelled.  
  
"Independent and Free! Independent and Free! Independent and Free!"  
  
Twenty-Six turned his gaze to the streets, inquiring, "Madam's sure this'll work?"  
  
One shrugged. "Does it matter? Do as she's directed. That is all any of us can do."  
  
"One?" One turned his gaze to Thirty-Seven. "Why aren't we encouraging the protests?"  
  
Twenty-Six scoffed. "Could have answered that for ya, Thirty-Seven."  
  
Thirty-Seven glared at him. "And I know you'll just be a jerk about it." She turned her gaze back to One, her headset shifting as she did so. "One?"  
  
One held her gaze long enough to nod at the window Twenty-Six was supporting with his shoulder. "Do you know what they are calling for, Thirty-Seven?"  
  
"Independence and freedom from the World Power," she recited easily.  
  
One nodded. "Do you know who started that mantra?" Thirty-Seven shook her head. "Madam."  
  
"What, what?" Twenty-Six snapped, spinning around. Nine settled the mount of her riffle on the window ledge. "Madam is the head of all this?"  
  
One tipped his head to the side, expression blank. "Yes. And no. She started this. She is not leading this. You know her goal. You know the ideals of the Selection and their roll within the Resistance. We stand to help bring independence and freedom to all but what those people out there are doing is not the way to go about it. Rioting and violent protests are far from what they need to be doing."  
  
As if to taunt them, the voice of the crowd "Independent and Free! Independent and Free!"  
  
One dipped his head towards the window. "Follow Madam's orders. We will bring independence and freedom from the World Power but not through these archaic methods."  
  
Thirty-Seven jerked upright, hand flying to the dials before her as she quickly spewed, "Target leaving shelter. Viewing ETA 1 minute."  
  
The entire room tensed. Twenty-Six swept his gaze over the crowd as Nine waited on his word. He found their target even in the madness below.  
  
"Independent and Free! Independent and Free!"  
  
"South, walking north toward the stand. Quadrant 2D."  
  
"Locked on," Nine spoke, voice crisp, clear.  
  
"Informing motion," Thirteen spoke in a low voice before he ducked out.  
  
"Guard information inbound," Thirty-Seven spoke. "Unit AI. Count 3."  
  
"Spotted," Twenty-Six and Nine confirmed. "Count 1 and 2 at side," Twenty-Six informed, Nine continuing, "Count 3 on opposite roof, 2 o'clock."  
  
"Relaying intel," Thirty-Seven replied. Briefly muttered words filled the lulled silence. She spoke up again. "Snipe count 3 at ready."  
  
"Marked and initializing," Nine supplied, shifting slightly before compressing the trigger. There was a puff of air. "Count 3 out."  
  
"Count 1 and 2 aware. They are searching," Twenty-Six urged, glaring at the units below."  
  
"Can they triangulate?" One asked, voice hard.  
  
"Listening," Thirty-Seven informed at the same time Twenty-Six responded with, "Doesn't appear so."  
  
"Confirmed," Thirty-Seven quickly relayed. "Count 1 and 2 had not seen any of it. They are breaking off count 2."  
  
"Confirmed," Twenty-Six spoke. "Count 2 heading to adjacent building."  
  
"Received intel: take out count 1 now," Thirty-Seven urged.  
  
"Marked and initializing," Nine responded, already moving. She compressed the trigger. "Count 1 out."  
  
"Count 2 did not see any of it. Is now rejoining target. Only target appears to know that anything is wrong," Twenty-Six supplied, eyes on the ground. "Crowd is still blind to it all."  
  
"Received intel: take out count 2 now," Thirty-Seven spoke over him.  
  
"Marked and initializing," Nine confirmed, once more compressing the trigger. "Count 2 out."  
  
"Hold on Target till mark," Thirty-Seven relayed.  
  
Nine shifted. "Marked and ready."  
  
Twenty-Six narrowed his eyes, trying to take in the target. Something was wrong. He glanced at One to find the youth's eyes on him. Twenty-Six frowned, trying to decipher the lack of expression. There was like a click in the back of his head as Thirty-Seven's words seemed far away. "Take out Target on mark."  
  
"Our target is Madam," Twenty-Six spoke, the horror of the thought raging into terror at One's minute nod as Thirty-Seven spoke, "Fire."  
  
The chanting outside held but it only lasted till the end of the slogan. It began to waver, repeating a second time. Somewhere in the middle of the third, someone screamed.


	3. Sensuality

"Sensuality."  
  
He frowned slightly as he let the hammer come down on the nail. "In what context?"  
  
She looked up from the book, confused. "What do you mean?"  
  
He leaned back enough to look at her perched on top of a set piece, his class notebook and textbook resting on her knee. "Is it meant to be associate with sensuous or sensual? Are we dealing with the older definitions or the more modern ones?"  
  
She shrugged, showing him the page she was reading from. "You've got me. It just says sensuality."  
  
He let out a sigh, turning back to his work. "Fricken vague professors."  
  
He hammered in a few more nails before he had to move the ladder. It wasn't till he was on the ground that he realized she hadn't spoken up again. He looked to her, curious. "You alright, kit?"  
  
She looked at him, blinking as if coming out of a daze. She nodded, smiling. "Yeah, sorry. Just thinking."  
  
"Bout sensuality?"  
  
She nodded again as he crossed to stand beneath her. "It's hard not to, with what we are."  
  
He chuckled at that. "Young adults full of hormones."  
  
She shifted so that her legs hung over the edge, feet barely brushing the face of the structure as she gave him a look. "Not just that."  
  
He looked away. "We can't, Nera," he growled, looking around to see if anyone else was there. They were thankfully alone.  
  
"Come on, Xander," Nera urged, leaning forward as if threatening to jump. "Tell me you're not curious."  
  
"Of course I am," he snapped, his voice slow and roughened by a growl. "But this is not the time nor the place to be discussing it."  
  
She made a face almost like she had tasted something sour. He knew that she felt betrayed by his words just by her reaction but he just couldn't. Not here, not with so much at stake. He sighed, turning to return to the flat he had been hammering facing onto. "Look, I'm more than up for talking about it later but right now, I have work to do." He dug out a few nails from a box, glancing at her. "You gonna help me study or not?"  
  
She sighed and returned to her original position, his books propped up around her. "Fine. But I'm not letting you off the hook," she promised.  
  
He smirked around a nail between his teeth. "Next word."  
  
He worked like that for another half hour, going through and doing all that needed to be done by hand. In the end, it all turned out rather well and the rest of the crew had arrived. Nera joined him briefly, his bag slung over her shoulder. She looked determined, if not a tad annoyed. "Later," she reminded him sharply.  
  
He offered her a tight smile and a pat of the shoulder. "Later. Promise."  
  
She gave a quick nod before ducking out as the technical director stormed the stage. He fell into work, doing what was asked of him with relative ease. It wasn't till they were cleaning up that one of his classmates and fellow coworker asked their own question.  
  
"Hey, Xander, you understand the study guide?"  
  
He looked to his classmate, finding a young man smaller than him and a little on the timid side. An actor, not a technician, but there for the credit needed to pass a class. He shrugged, winding the cable they were gathering on the catwalk. "Only enough to know that the teacher was being vague."  
  
His classmate chuckled and shook their head. "At least I'm not the only one thinking that."  
  
Xander dropped his bundle on the cart, gaze still on his classmate. "Everything alright, Tucker?"  
  
His classmate shrugged. "As alright as things can be."  
  
Xander placed his hand on Tucker's shoulder, feeling the young man tense beneath his touch. Xander noted it and pushed it aside. "Hey. You do know that you don't have to work yourself to the bone, right? Nera says yer doing at least five classes and, not only are you cast in the production, you're working here and off campus." Xander frowned. "Is there anything that either of us can do for you?"  
  
Tucker shook his head but the other now looked a lot more tired than Xander had originally noticed. He also noticed faint tremors under his fingers which only bred worry in his gut. "No, and I've already told Nera the same thing." Tucker gave him a tight smile. "You two are always so kind to me. Really, I'm fine. Just still getting used to it all."  
  
Xander slowly removed his hand from the other, not sure how to take it. But, nonetheless, he let it be. "Alright. But you come to either of us if you ever need anything. Even if it's just help with homework."  
  
Tucker grinned at him but Xander could see the flaws in the mask. "Of course."  
  
Xander turned his back for only a moment, but there was a commotion behind him, and someone screamed.  
  
Xander spun around, mind working fast to take in what was going on. Tucker was wavering between safety and free fall at the edge of the catwalk. One of the other students, some bully Xander cared not to know the name of, had pushed bodily passed Tucker and, while it may have been fine, it seemed that exhaustion had rid the young man of his balance. Xander didn't even have a chance to think.  
  
He was across the catwalk and jumping after Tucker, consequences be damned. Air rushed passed him as the sound of his own blood filled his ears. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Tucker, wings suddenly pounding the air around him to make sure he reached the smaller man before they touched ground. With a grunt, he turned them about in the air so that his wings could counter their fall. By the time his feet touched ground, he had nearly countered their freefall completely. His feet were soft as they touched pavement but his main concern was Tucker.  
  
The young man was shaking in his grasp but the freefall had caused the other to shift, similar to how Xander had just shifted. But Tucker seemed to be in shock, staring at his hands as if he didn't recognize them. Xander growled, though it sounded weird coming from the chest of an aviary of sorts. He turned his attention to the crowd, defensive. His wings came up as if to shield them both.  
  
"Xander!"  
  
Nera came bounding over on all four paws, her human form having given way to her anthropomorphic fox form. She moved from all fours to two legs smoothly, hands ghosting over Xander's large black beak in a calming gesture. "What happen?" she asked, the fur on her tail fluffed more than normal and her ears alert and twitchy, meaning she was on edge. He gently grabbed her hand as he tucked his wings against his back.  
  
"Someone pushed Tucker off the catwalk." He noticed that, even with her fur, she paled considerably. He tightened his grip on her hand, urging, "He's never shifted."  
  
Her eyes snapped to the young man Xander was still holding against his chest. Tucker was lankier than normal, though Xander would use the term lithe in later conversations. It suited him, seeing as he had turned into a sort of anthropomorphic deer. Not quite like Nera, able to use all four limbs to run, but he had the antlers, the ears, a slightly elongated face, and longer limbs. His coloring had changed a bit too, leaving his hands the same color as hooves, and his skin and hair to be more of the coloring of a specific type of deer. Xander had no clue what type it was but he knew for certain it wasn't the white-tail that was native to the region. Xander tightened his hold on Tucker, gaining Nera's gaze. He wasn't looking at her though. The students around them looked as if they were still in shock. "Nera," he urged, his voice low.  
  
"Xander! Nera!" the technical director barked, causing both to flinch. Xander's feathers rose from his body, giving him a rather jagged look. Nera was in no better shape, all her fur standing on end in fright. They both were not sure how to handle the situation when their professor and technical director stopped before them, ordering, "Do not move from this spot till I get back. Am I clear?"  
  
They both nodded out of not knowing what else to do.  
  
The technical director turned to the rest of the student body. "Carmic, go around and make sure the doors are locked. Everyone else to the house. Find a seat and get comfortable. We're going to be a while."  
  
The technical director moved off to do something, leaving the three students in their creature forms floundering for something to do. Xander wanted to shift back to human just so that the other students would stop staring but, if he did that, his plumage would go away, revealing more of Tucker than was already exposed. The thought only made him curl around the deer in his arm even more. Nera seemed to be reading his thoughts like she always seemed to do because she re-positioned herself so that she was more obvious to look at than Tucker.  
  
The technical director returned with another professor and Xander instinctively bristled again. They did not need more people knowing about them.  
  
"Xander, how is Tucker," the new professor asked, coming to stand just out of reach of Nera.  
  
Xander looked down to find Tucker's gaze on him. The young man seemed calmer and a lot more alert. "Better, professor," Xander responded, returning his gaze to the professor. "But I don't understand why you are here, let alone why Nera and I haven't simply booked it by now."  
  
The technical director gave a chuckle that carried from the stage. "Because you're not alone in this."  
  
Xander frowned at him but Nera seemed to lighten up with a bit of hope. The technical director looked to the other students, seeming to pick specific ones, ordering, "If you know how, shift. It's about time we started making a community for those of you that can."  
  
A good number of the student body shifted into all manner of creature, ranging from that actual creature to an anthropomorphic version of it to even some just having a few minor characteristics. Xander visibly relaxed as the technical director shifted. He turned his gaze to the professor, finding that the man hadn't shifted. "Professor?"  
  
The professor gave a soft smile. "I am not one of you, but my husband is."  
  
The technical director sat on the edge of the stage. "That is not well known information in the school and none of you are permitted to spread it," he growled.  
  
The majority of the student body flinched at the empty threat but one brave soul raised their hand, squeaking out, "About you two being married?"  
  
The technical director nodded, though Xander couldn't help but think that was a rather tame reaction.  
  
The professor shifted his weight, gaining the majority's attention again. "We would like to start a network of support for those that are....more than human." There was a collective tensing but the professor continued on as carefully as he could manage, turning his attention to the masses. "There are many things a lot of you are unprepared for, especially if you have recently discovered this trait about yourself. Your senses will be affected in many ways and myself and your TD are working to set up a system to help you."  
  
"Those of you that are human in this room, fully and completely," the technical director spoke, the silence becoming even more so as he paused, "you are being asked to either become part of this community and help your friends and classmates in their time of need, or to keep your trap shut and never speak of this again. Your choice."  
  
The professor gained a fond smile. "Charming as always."  
  
The technical director shrugged, obviously hearing the soft comment. "Not my fault I have such the reputation."  
  
"You're still scary, teach," Xander commented, feeling brave even when his technical director turned panther eyes on him. And everyone thought their technical director was scarier before. "And that isn't something we did."  
  
The technical director pretended to be affronted but the glint in that panther gaze clearly spoke of amusement that was probably sadistic on some level. "I'm not that scary!"  
  
"Hun, you're currently a panther," the professor commented, the banter cutting through the tension in the room like a lightning bolt. The students relaxed, a low chatter settling over the room.  
  
The technical director pointed his finger at the closest students, male and female. "If I hear any of you make a kitty comment, I will make you strike the set by yourself at the end of the run."  
  
Laughter filled the space as those that had been picked out cowered appropriately. That was a threat no one wanted to have happen.


End file.
